Liao dynasty

The Great Liao (907-1125), also known as the Khitan Empire, was an empire of Khitans in East Asia that ruled over Mongolia, eastern Russia, northern China, and North Korea. The Liao were one of the foreign barbarian "conquest dynasties" to rule over China in the aftermath of the fall of the Tang dynasty. The Liao were conquered by the Great Jin in 1125, but their remnants formed the Kara-Khitans.

History
The Khitans originated from a branch of the Xianbei barbarians of northern China, and during the barbarian invasions of China, the Khitans conquered northern China and formed the Liao dynasty. The Liao's first khan was Abaoji, who conquered the state of Balhae, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, and force Goryeo and the Song dynasty to pay tribute. The Great Liao also pushed into Central Asia, and they established a large empire.

However, the Liao had to deal with the animosities between the Khitan ruling classes and the Uyghurs and Chinese that they ruled. The Chinese favored the inheritance of titles by firstborn children, while Khitans favored inheritance by the strongest candidate; also, the Khitans believed that women had the same rights as men (such as managing households, holding military titles, and not being forced to be a virgin until their first marriage), while the Chinese believed that they were subservient. The Liao's ruling Buddhist emperors also had to deal with dissent among subjects that adhered to Manichaeism, Tengrism, or other beliefs.

In 1114, the Great Jin dynasty of Jurchens emerged, and in 1124 Emperor Tianzuodi of Liao was captured by the Jin in battle. The Jin conquered the Liao that same year, and they emerged as the most powerful dynasty in the north of China. Other Khitan rulers formed the Kara-Khitans, a Central Asian khanate that would endure until its conquest by the Mongol Empire in 1218.